Creating community, Anne Lamott, and Hugs

Yesterday my favorite author, Anne Lamott, came to Fort Worth.  She was here in April and I was excited about that for weeks before the event and weeks after the event. When you love an artists' work and then get to meet that person, and even connect with them through a hug, it makes your connection to the work even stronger.  This time was no different.
The talk started at 7, but I assumed there would be thousands of people there, so I showed up at 5. I did this at her last appearance, too, and ended up making a new friend.  This time I knew what to expect, so I was less anxious and nervous and just buzzing with enthusiasm.  The only people at the event when I showed up were the organizers, who were arranging chairs, cookies on trays, and fall displays.  They all laughed at me and my excitement.  That's perfectly fine. These people were somehow responsible for bringing my favorite author to town, so I wanted to show them my gratitude and excitement.
Shortly after I arrived, another crazed fan walked in. I had positioned myself by the door so I could see everyone coming in and introduce myself.  I greeted the people who came in the door to be greeters, which was pretty funny.  The new crazed fan was Carol and she had driven for nearly two hours to see Anne Lamott.  We became fast friends.  As more people arrived, I introduced everyone to everyone and pretty soon the entire atrium area was laughing and smiling. As 7:00 approached, everyone was respectful of Carol and my wait and excitement and they all lined up behind us to go into the church's sanctuary.
By the time the doors opened, I had made at least 20 new friends, and had been a part of at least five meaningful conversations about faith and life.  All my new friends ended up sitting with my already friends and we filled a pew before we even had finished arriving.  As more people arrived that had planned to sit with us, we scooted down and talked with each other, swapping bits of our life stories.
This is what I love about church. This is a huge reason why I am headed to seminary. I believe in the gifts of community and I love connecting with people.  By the time the event began, there wasn't a distinction between new friends and old. We were all friends together. We were surrounded by love and were sharing infectious caring with one another.  I put on my jacket and I had a close friend plus the lady behind me helping me put my arm in the sleeve.  Just a simple action like putting on my jacket was infused with love.
Of course we all loved hearing Anne Lamott speak. My new friend Carol cried several times and then another new friend passed a kleenex box down the row.
After the event I said farewell to friends as they left and then I got in line to have a stack of books signed.  I gave Anne a gift of pens, a pencil pouch, bluebonnet seeds, a copy of my blog post about her, and a card that says, "You are beloved, precious child of God and beautiful to behold."  She loved, loved, loved it and even hugged me a good, long time.
***(I got the card idea from my friend Rev. Nancy, who passed them out during Bible study one night. I passed them out this year during Bible study and had leftovers. I was handing them out to my new friends like trading cards. Everyone loved them.  One of my new friends even had Anne sign her card so she could put it on her mirror.)
So on the day after the event, I am unsure what I loved most. Was it the excitement and anticipation? Was it the connection with new and already friends? Was it the sense of community we created? Was it Anne's speech? Was it the honor of speaking to her and offering her a gift? Was it knowing that some of my writing will be read by my favorite author? Was it getting a hug from so many people, including Anne Lamott?
I'm not sure, but I am sure I will be happy about this for a good, long time.

Two "Aha!" moments this week

Twice this week I was upset with myself and figured out I was the problem.  I had an "aha!" moment twice.  Here's what hit me on the head this week:

1. The need for community, again.
One of my personal soapboxes, and something I've blogged about a few times, is what I believe is an intrinsic need for community.  I think everyone has this need.  What happens is that when a person separates themselves from a support network, they start looking inward.  Then they only see themselves and their problems become the only problems in the world and they magnify.  If one disconnects with society, small issues become great big ones.  I see this again and again in my world and see people reaching out less and less because they can write on one another's "wall" or text each other. 

The problem is that I can easily see this issue in others, but recently failed to see it in myself.  Because it's now summer, I'm less involved at church and socially.  I decided to take some time off various groups that I'm in.  But Wednesday night, I made myself go see a movie with some friends I hadn't hung out with in a while.  I was overwhelmed with a sense of love and friendship and had to remind myself that just because it's summer, I still need to be engaged.  It's humbling to hear about a friend's sick baby or ill grandparent and be reminded that I am not the only one in the world with problems.  I love it when I get bonked on the head and realize, it's not all about me.

2.  The need to advocate for myself
Yesterday I was in a hurry at Costco.  We were having company last night and I had to buy some last minute supplies.  When I got up to the register, one of the front end managers was leaning on the check-writing stand talking to the cashier's assistant/bagger/boxer/whatever you want to call him.  Instead of asking her to move, I politely and quietly waited while she finished her conversation and got out of the way.  Then I stepped up to the stand and wrote my check.  Once I was finished checking out, I realized that my items were not boxed and that the guy hadn't even asked me if I wanted boxes.  I was mad because I had a lot of items.  But then I was mad at myself because if I had spoken up at the beginning and called the manager to task, the helper would have been paying attention to me instead of her and I would have been happy with the end result.  So again I got bonked in the head and had an "aha" moment.

This week I will pay attention and advocate for myself.